Northern Thailand News
Stay updated with the latest Northern Thailand news at The Thaiger, your ultimate source for regional information. Keep informed on local events, business developments, and lifestyle stories in popular locations like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Pai.
Our in-depth coverage includes famous monuments such as the White Temple and Doi Suthep. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, The Thaiger’s Northern Thailand news page is your essential guide to exploring this culturally rich region. Delve into the vibrant community and diverse culture with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you connected and well-informed.
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Sponsored The Melting Clock: A sophisticated spot for Italian cuisine and exquisite wine in Bangkok
It’s no secret that Bangkok has a lot of excellent Italian restaurants and wine bars, so standing out in the crowd is no small task. But The Melting Clock, the Italian restaurant and wine lounge in Ekkamai, has shown that...
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Son lights himself on fire after asking mom for lottery money
A woman’s 32 year old son, in northern Thailand’s Phrae Province, is in critical condition from lighting himself on fire after falsely believing that his mother had won the lottery and would not share her winnings with him. Police at Denchai Police Station were alerted of a man who burned himself in Ban Mai Jua, Denchai District and notified a…
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800+ people found in close contact with an infected food vendor in Nakhon Phanom
Local disease control workers are continuing to track and trace Covid-19 infections at several villages in the That Phanom district of Nakhon Phanom, north eastern Thailand. The areas were locked down after a 51 year old local food vendor tested positive for Covid-19 and more than 800 people were reported to have had contact with the infected person. According to…
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Chiang Mai night markets reopening tomorrow
Night markets in Chiang Mai will be reopened tomorrow after the province went 6 consecutive days with no new Covid-19 cases. According to Chiang Mai Governor, Charoenrit Sanguansat, the province and the provincial disease control committee agreed to ease up restrictions on social and business activities after the number of infections continually dropped and no new infections were reported during…
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Police raid Isaan farm, arrest 2 people allegedly involved in illegal horse meat trade
A 44 year old Thai woman was arrested for allegedly trafficking and selling horse meat illegally after police in the Isaan province Khon Kaen raided a farm and found 44 horses that – they say – were about to be slaughtered. Reports say the farm owner was also arrested, but did not give any additional information. The horse meat was…
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Wildfires hit Mae Hong Son’s Pai district
Several wildfires have broken out in Mae Hong Son’s Pai district in Northern Thailand. The governor says he believes that several blazes happening in the area are a result of the dry season arriving earlier than usual. Using the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer system, the local forest fire control centre detected 155 so-called “heat points” in the Pai district from…
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Thai brothers charged with trafficking Thai women to Brunei for prostitution
3 people, including 2 brothers, have been arrested on charges of sex trafficking, accused of sending women to Brunei for prostitution purposes. Brothers Somchai Sukson, 55 years of age, and 49 year old Rachen Suksorn, were detained under an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court, charged with a sex trafficking operation involving over 3 people. Following the arrest of…
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Roi Et records first case of Covid-19 in employee from Chon Buri karaoke bar
The north-eastern province of Roi Et has confirmed its first Covid-19 case since last month’s resurgence of the virus. Governor Chayan Sirimas says the patient is a female employee from a karaoke joint in the Sri Racha district of Chon Buri province, in the east of the country. “She had close contact with another patient from Chon Buri province (her…
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Schools and lottery market in Loei close after family tests positive for Covid-19
Schools and a lottery market in the Northeastern province Loei were ordered to close after a family tested positive for Covid-19. The province is marked as a “yellow zone” under high surveillance with a total of 6 reported Covid-19 infections. Schools will be temporarily closed from today until 24 January, while the lottery market will be closed from today onwards.…
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3 people summonsed after allegedly attacking world-renowned Buri Ram dancer
3 young men are being summonsed in connection with the assault of Nopparat Boonrat, a world-renowned dancer and Buri Ram native. Buri Ram is a north eastern province. The men, aged 20-23, whose names have been withheld at this stage, are accused of severely injuring Nopparat last Wednesday night at a restaurant in Lahan Sai district in this northeastern province.…
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Thailand non-profit offers Zoom calls with Santa and his elephant friends
Santa Claus isn’t at the North Pole this year. He’s in Northern Thailand. And he’s not with elves. He’s mixing in with some of Thailand’s beloved elephants. Don’t believe it? Give him a Zoom call. Zoom calls on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with “Santa & his Elves” are offered by the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort and the…
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Khon Kaen mandates Covid testing for travellers to and from Samut Sakhon
The Khon Kaen governor is taking action after the recent Covid surge in Samut Sakhon by mandating that people returning to the province must undergo a Covid-19 screening. Somsak Jangtrakul says the new measures include those returning as of December 1 after he called a meeting of the provincial disease control today. At the meeting, it was decided that those…
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Festival-goers claim event shut down over pro-democracy content, not Covid-19
Social media users are accusing officials of shutting down a music festival in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima due to its pro-democracy content. The claims follow a statement from governor Wichian Chantaranothai, who says the festival was terminated early due to Covid-19 risks. He accuses organisers of failing to implement adequate preventative measures, saying there was no limit on…
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Man dies searching for shells while another dies in marathon
A man has died while searching for shells off Jomtien Beach, just south of Pattaya, after running out of oxygen. The man reportedly ran out of oxygen 9 metres underwater, when using scuba diving gear in deep waters. Rescue divers arrived at the scene and found 10 fishing boats about 1 kilometre away from the beach where local fishermen were…
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Authorities say “no quarantine” for tourists returning from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai
Despite a recent spike in Covid-19 local infections in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, authorities are axing the requirement for a 14 day quarantine for tourists who have returned from those areas back to other parts of Thailand. Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, scotched the rumours of some businesses claiming that such…
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Public health officers investigate mussel seller after alleged food poisoning death
Public health officers are investigating a mussel seller in the Isaan province Mukdahan, which borders Laos, after a man developed food poisoning symptoms sometime after eating the mussels and died. 35 year old Watchara Mada and his father ate the mussels last week. Although his father ate the mussels, Watchara “feasted” on the shellfish, according to his mother, 52 year old…
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2 local cases in Bangkok contribute to Sunday total of 14 new Covid-19 cases
2 people have been identified in Bangkok as locally infected with Covid-19. The announcement follows a week of revelations coming out of the north from the Chiang Rai border crossing into Myanmar where Thai prostitutes and workers have been crossing back into Thailand, infected, without going through any quarantine procedures. Thailand recorded 14 new cases of the coronavirus today, including…
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Isaan woman saves her husband from elephant attack
A woman saved her husband from a wild elephant attack by screaming and banging objects together, driving the elephant away with the loud noises. 33 year old Supat Klonsalab, a rubber tapper in the Isaan province Bueng Kan, is being treated at a local hospital. Luckily, his injuries from being stomped by the elephant are not severe. 37 year old…
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Tigers and tiger body parts seized from Thai zoo investigated for alleged wildlife smuggling
In a crackdown on suspected wildlife trafficking, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation seized 5 tigers from a private zoo in the Isaan province Mukdahan. DNA tests confirmed that at least 3 of the 5 tiger cubs are not related to the tigers in the Mudka Tiger Park & Farm, leading officials to believe the wildcats were…
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12 people arrested for allegedly illegally crossing Thai-Myanmar border
12 Thais were arrested by Chaing Rai Immigration Police for allegedly illegally crossing the Myanmar border back into Thailand. The arrests follow a small coronavirus outbreak in Northern Thailand while Myanmar reports hundreds of new Covid-19 cases each day. Over the weekend, a 29 year old Thai woman tested positive for Covid-19 in Chiang Mai after visiting the hospital with…
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Young monk killed by wild elephant while meditating
A young Buddhist monk was found dead on a mountain in the Northern province Kamphaeng Phet. Reports say the 21 year old was killed by a wild elephant while he was meditating. The monk walks down the mountain everyday at 6am to receive his daily alms, according to the village headman Kraiwan Nontibut in the Saeka district. When the monk…
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5 family members killed in early morning collision in Nakhon Ratchasima
An early morning collision today has taken the lives of 5 family members in Thailand’s lower northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. One boy, aged 5, and two girls, aged 3 and 11, along with other family members, were killed when a pickup and sport utility vehicle collided in the Non Daeng district at around 6:40 am on the Mitrapap highway…
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Ron Howard to direct cave rescue feature film ‘Thirteen Lives’ in Australia
The Australian Government is putting up A$13 million to Imagine Entertainment and film giant MGM to shoot a live-action feature film called Thirteen Lives, based on the Chiang Rai Tham Luang cave rescue story. The film will be shot in Queensland, Australia in the hinterland areas behind the Gold Coast. The film will be directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind,…
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Rare sighting of an endangered clouded leopard at Isaan mountain range
An endangered clouded leopard was spotted at a mountain range in the Isaan province Si Sa Ket. The rare sighting, captured using a camera trap, was the first time in about 20 years the wildcat has been seen in the Phnom Dongrak mountain range which borders Cambodia. Since the park rangers stepped up patrol against poaching and made efforts to…
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State Railway officials sign 5 high-speed rail contracts as part of project linking Thailand and China
Officials from the State Railway of Thailand have signed 5 high-speed rail contracts worth more than 40 billion baht, in the latest development in the Thailand – China rail connection. It’s understood the contracts cover phase 1 of the railway, from Bangkok to the north-eastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat). It’s hoped that section will carry its first passengers in…
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480 kilograms of marijuana seized on Laos border
Police have seized 480 kilograms of, what they say is, “high-grade” marijuana in northeastern Thailand in a routine roadside search. The search was conducted near the border in Nakhon Phanom province. Police say the smugglers were looking for alternate routes now that the roads and traditional border crossings from Myanmar and Laos had been closed. 25 year old Likit Boonprasit…
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Thai man in Surin greeted by crocodile in his toilet
Surprise! A Thai man in Surin province was greeted by an unexpected visitor as he took an early morning toilet break. The man, 52 year old Korn Yudirom, says he got up at 3am to use the toilet, which is located separately from his main home. The man thought water was left running in the toilet, after hearing noises after…
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9 arrests as police net huge drugs haul in 4 cases in north, north-east
Millions of methamphetamine pills, over 800 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, and over 700 kilograms of cannabis have been seized by police in 4 separate cases. The Narcotics Suppression Bureau confirmed the seizures, along with the arrests of 9 suspects, at its headquarters in Bangkok. The parade of police and the seized narcotics are a staple in Thai police PR. The…
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Students at Khon Kaen university gather to protest police violence at Bangkok rally
Students at Khon Kaen University, in the north-east of the country, held a rally last night to protest police violence against pro-democracy activists in Bangkok. The Bangkok Post reports that around 50 students came together at around 7pm, to protest the use of tear gas and high-powered water cannons in an effort to stop anti-government activists reaching the Parliament building.…
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Army orders investigation into soldier’s death
The Royal Thai Army is to carry out an internal investigation into the death of a soldier at a military base in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen. 21 year old Rachata Senasanit was found hanged on November 1, with an initial probe ruling his death as suicide. However, the victim’s father, Surachai Senasanit, claims an employee at Srinagarind Hospital’s…
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Udon Thani police seek woman who abandoned newborn baby at roadside
Police in the north-eastern province of Udon Thani are looking for a woman who abandoned a newborn baby girl at the side of the road. The newborn was found on the Mumon-Nakwang Road by a woman from the neighbouring province of Amnat Charoen. Nation Thailand reports that 27 year old Watchara Jaruchai was driving home after making merit at a…
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